The Guest List

by Melissa Hill

  She thought about the credit card statement she had received in the post the previous day, as well as the other card that was almost up to its limit. Then there was the second mortgage. Betty hated thinking about that, and still felt slightly nauseated every month when they went to pay it. If they ran up another big wedding bill, Mick would probably have to put off the idea of retirement for another few years at the very least. Truthfully, she might have to consider going back to work herself, at least part-time.

  But notwithstanding this, she and Mick would never have denied Cara a big wedding. And they could get round the financial aspect if needs be. They could ask for an increase on their overdraft, and of course Betty had a bit of nice jewellery that she could sell. She would sacrifice, they would sacrifice whatever necessary, especially for their daughter. After all, didn’t every girl want a big white wedding?

  Apparently not, Betty thought. Not Cara. No going into debt over the Big Day, no fuss, nothing special. There was no denying that Cara had always been very practical and so smart, compared to Heidi who was a bit ditzy, and then Danielle, who was a completely different ball game. But that was really beside the point. Betty wanted Cara to have a big wedding. She loved everything that went along with it – the idea of showing off her beautiful daughter and throwing a big party with tonnes of guests to celebrate. But now she was being denied that too. It was hurtful because she and Cara had always been so close, and while she knew she shouldn’t admit it (and would never do so out loud), she couldn’t deny that Cara was also her favourite.

  A wedding. In a foreign country. Hours and hours away. A celebration that was essentially being whittled away to nothing. A bare bones ceremony, no big dress and wedding cake, only a few guests.

  That didn’t sound like a wedding at all, thought Betty. Imagine the sand that would be getting in their eyes and their shoes? But hadn’t Cara said something about wanting to go barefoot, like some kind of peasant . . .?

  Cara and Shane could travel where they wanted for their honeymoon. If only she could convince them to have the ceremony here in Ireland.

  Betty put her hands in the soapy water and felt around for another dish. Finding one, she brought it out of the water and took out her frustration on it, scrubbing it mercilessly.

  She had to come up with a plan. True, Cara and Shane had said that they had already put down their deposit. That was going to be hard to combat. But really, what was a deposit in the scheme of things? How much could they have possibly spent?

  Betty remembered the plane tickets and Shane’s promise to also pay for the passports application, which was very generous of them really. But that was Cara, generous to a fault.

  She hated feeling negative about what should be a happy time in her daughter’s life, and she supposed that if she just went along with it, it would be relative smooth sailing. But wasn’t she denying her instincts by doing that? Betty felt certain that deep down Cara didn’t really want a beach wedding and would be disappointed by it in the end. No, a big white wedding here in Ireland and lots of fuss was more her daughter’s style – and more to the point, it was what she deserved. Knowing Cara, she’d only come up with this notion because she didn’t want to put herself and Mick to more expense.

  Well, Betty couldn’t allow that, wouldn’t allow her beloved daughter to sacrifice her big day. She just needed to convince her that it was fine to have the wedding here and that she and her father wouldn’t be overstretching themselves.

  Perhaps then this mad notion of a foreign wedding would fade into the distance.

  But she needed a support mechanism too, Betty realised. She needed someone else to help her try and talk some sense into Cara.

  Immediately her thoughts moved to Shane’s parents. They were already annoyed at the couple, so this news was likely to infuriate them. Especially with them being so posh and uppity. They were more than likely well-travelled and probably knew all about the Caribbean, but they would hardly want their only son to be married in some teeny ceremony on a public beach in front of all the natives. What parents would?

  However, Betty quickly faced a snag there. She had never met Shane’s parents, not yet at least. But wasn’t this situation emergency enough to track down their phone number and get them on her side?

  But what if they didn’t immediately see her side?

  No, she thought, of course they would.

  But what if they didn’t? Furthermore, what if they had an idea that she disagreed with? Then Betty would be fighting against two separate parties with the possibility of com-peting against his parents. That wouldn’t do . . .

  Betty quickly crossed the Richardsons off her list. There were too many variables when it came to his parents because her knowledge of the family was limited. If she could meet them first, maybe she would have more leverage? Maybe she could innocently get Cara to set up a time for both families to meet some time soon (in the guise of celebrating the engagement maybe?); then she could possibly gauge their feelings about all of this and unite with them to get this nonsense stopped.

  That was a Plan B, Betty decided. Problem was, it certainly didn’t help her today. She needed to think in the short term.

  So what was Plan A?

  She could turn to Kim . . .

  No, that wouldn’t work either, she thought. Kim wouldn’t be able to read between the lines and would no doubt stand by Cara’s decision, seeing that the girl was so contrary about everything herself. Her daughter-in-law certainly had her own strong opinions, ones that Betty consistently found herself disagreeing with.

  She withdrew her hands from the soapy water, realising that she was all out of dirty dishes. She wiped the countertop and put away the remaining dinner accoutrements. Looking around, she saw that her kitchen was sparkling. Usually, that was enough to set her mind at ease. But not tonight. Not with everything that had happened.

  She crossed the kitchen and took a seat at the table. The brochures and pictures of the resort in St Lucia were still spread across the surface and absently, Betty flipped through them once again.

  It was true that all the pictures were very pretty and the resort itself was unlike anything that Betty had ever seen before. Certainly she had never been to a place like this. If it were for any other reason maybe she would be in the position where she would entertain the idea. But who ever heard of a beach wedding? She thought of the term as something very foreign and uncomfortable – for people who were eloping or had something to be ashamed of, perhaps. It just wasn’t done, not in her world, not something that was common in the way of life that she was used to. And definitely not something she understood.

  Of course, Betty thought darkly, she knew exactly who was to blame. This would have never been an option for Cara if it weren’t for Danielle’s meddling. Betty guessed that her oldest daughter was just doing this to spite her, planting ideas in Cara’s head, drawing her away from home.

  She loved Danielle, of course she did, but she just didn’t understand her firstborn. It had always been that way, ever since she had been a small child.

  She had always been so outgoing, adventurous, and so rebellious too. If there was strife to be had, certainly it would be Danielle who would land in it – usually head first. Betty had never understood how she had produced a daughter who was just her opposite in every way . . .

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. When she reopened them she pushed the St Lucia brochures aside.

  She knew that Danielle was a grown woman now, with a good career and all the trappings that went with it. She had a jet-setting lifestyle and a wealthy boyfriend who was clearly committed to her. But why, after supposedly five years together, had she never introduced them to that boyfriend of hers? Why did she feel like family visits were optional? And why couldn’t she ever just do what Betty wanted her to do?

  Betty felt her blood pressure rising and realised that this was the root of all of her frustration. Danielle had never followed the rules and had always tried to go her own way
, even if it was the wrong way. And now Cara was trying to do the same. Running across the ocean, away from the friends and family members who had surrounded and supported her for her entire life.

  Betty didn’t like thinking about the reason Danielle had left, nor the part she herself may have played in it. But she did know one thing for sure; she wasn’t going to make the same mistakes and risk losing Cara.

  Which is why she couldn’t allow her older daughter to get too tied up in arranging this wedding. Where Danielle was concerned, chaos reigned.

  Betty frowned. She needed to show a united front against this beach wedding, preferably with someone who would be as upset by the idea as she was. When she realised the answer, she shook her head, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it before now.

  Heidi.

  Of course Heidi would throw a fit. Heidi could always be depended on to throw a fit, especially when she didn’t agree with whatever someone else was doing.

  Betty thought with confidence that Heidi was sure not to agree with Cara’s idea for the wedding. Especially now that she was pregnant.

  She knew that her youngest was being slightly overdramatic with some of the nonsense that she was spouting about what you could and could not do while expecting. After all, Betty had been through it all before and realised that there were a lot of superstitions out there, especially amongst some first-time mothers and the crazy, new age doctors who seemed to put all kinds of nonsense into the heads of pregnant women. Telling them they couldn’t eat cheese and fish and all that rubbish. These days there were so many dos and don’ts it was making women afraid of their own shadows.

  As far as Betty was concerned, most of these so called ‘fears’ were completely unfounded, but at the same time that didn’t mean that she couldn’t play on some of them. Cara might think she had her heart set on this beach wedding, but the more people who came out of the woodwork to complain about it, the more likely she was to reconsider and think about having a traditional church wedding here in Ireland instead.

  Betty smiled again. All was not lost. She shouldn’t have got so upset earlier; this could be solved and she was sure she could eventually get Cara to see sense. But the first step was calling Heidi.

  She picked up the phone and dialled.

  On the fourth ring, Heidi answered. ‘Hello?’

  Her voice seemed a little groggy, as if she had been sleeping.

  ‘Heidi darling, it’s Mum. Did I wake you up?’

  ‘Oh, I was just resting my eyes. I am just so tired lately,’ Heidi gasped.

  ‘Perfectly normal, really it is, all those excess hormones and what not,’ Betty cooed. ‘With the changes your body is going through, sleep is the best way to deal with them.’ She shook her head, thinking of her own pregnancies where she had worked almost up until the day she had given birth. There had been no lying around, and no ‘resting her eyes’ for Betty. Not when she and Mick had bills to pay and mouths to feed.

  ‘So I’m actually phoning with a bit of news about your sister. Turns out Cara has set a date for her wedding. It’s the middle of September, the twelfth to be exact.’

  There was a brief silence on the other end before finally Heidi spoke. ‘But I’ll be in my last trimester . . . Couldn’t she have at least waited until after I have the baby?’

  ‘Yes, you will be. Just shy of seven months if I’m doing the sums correctly?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Heidi said. Betty could tell that her daughter was smiling; she knew Heidi loved it when people paid attention to the intricate details.

  ‘Yes, she surprised your father and me with the news of the date tonight. And not only that,’ Betty paused, ‘turns out we are all going to have to start stocking up on suncream, because the wedding is going to be in St Lucia. The Caribbean,’ she added helpfully.

  There was a very long silence at the end of the line, but Betty knew that if she was calling it right, that silence wouldn’t last for much longer.

  ‘Heidi, pet? Are you there?’ she asked innocently.

  ‘They . . . are . . . doing . . . WHAT?’ Heidi said, enunciating each word slowly and carefully.

  Bingo, Betty thought, wincing at her daughter’s tone.

  ‘Yes, St Lucia. Out on the beach apparently. In front of all and sundry.’

  ‘But I can’t go to St Lucia!’ Heidi wailed. ‘I won’t be allowed to fly! Why is Cara doing this? Mum, I really hope you told her that when you are pregnant you cannot fly. And I hope you told her that this was a crazy idea!’

  ‘Well, I told her that you were probably going to have some issues with it, yes. But she and Shane were both resolute that this is what they wanted.’

  Heidi breathed heavily down the phone. ‘I really can’t believe this . . . Mum, I’m sorry,’ she gasped. ‘I have to go. All this stress isn’t good for the baby, so I’d better hang up soon before my blood pressure gets any higher.’ She groaned. ‘A beach wedding? Of all the selfish . . . well, Cara will just have to get this ridiculous idea out of her head quick smart.’

  Betty barely had the chance to say goodbye before the line went dead.

  She stared at the mouthpiece. Her youngest was a real piece of dynamite, with an incredibly short fuse. Betty knew that Heidi could certainly be depended on to make Cara see sense, and realise that it would be better to keep the wedding close to home.

  After all, this was supposed to be a happy time. And what kind of bride-to-be would want their entire family up in arms?

  Chapter 16

  Heidi paced the room, seething. Before her mother’s phone call, she had been sitting on the sofa with her feet up and relaxing in front of the TV, enjoying – and dozing off in front of – a rerun of Desperate Housewives. But now she was a million miles from relaxed.

  She knew that she shouldn’t be getting so worked up about her sister’s wedding, not in her condition. But really, she’d already had quite enough of Cara lately, what with stealing her thunder with her engagement, and now with her stupid beach wedding. The fact was that Cara had been stealing Heidi’s thunder all her life.

  Not that she was so worried about Cara usurping her own wedding celebrations. After all, she knew well that no other wedding could possibly live up to the extravaganza she and Paul had thrown last year.

  No, this wasn’t about the wedding, beach or otherwise. What really bothered her was that Cara wasn’t considering her feelings at all. It was as if her sister didn’t care about whether or not she could travel, hadn’t considered it even.

  Same old same old. Didn’t anyone in this family give a toss about her feelings?

  Heidi hadn’t envisioned having to go a wedding close to seven months pregnant, let alone one in a hot, humid climate. She was likely to be sweating and uncomfortable, and no one liked sweating and uncomfortable pregnant women. No, they liked glowing, cute and tidy pregnant women, which is what she was likely to be if the wedding was held here.

  She’d anticipated that it would take Cara and Shane a lot longer than four months to arrange their big day, especially when there was just so much to think about. Whoever heard of anyone getting engaged and married in the same year – what was the point of that, when much of the fun was getting everything organised and making sure everyone else was involved?

  But that was bloody Cara, wasn’t it? Sensible to the last. Swanning off to a place that she’d never even been to and having people she’d never even met arrange her own wedding. How could a complete stranger possibly understand how important it was that everything needed to be perfect?

  Heidi remembered having to phone her wedding cake designer at least fifteen times to confirm her preferences before he finished the cake, and as for the dress designer – well, she was practically Heidi’s best friend by the end of it. Or used to be, at least.

  Imagine having to lug a beautiful wedding dress all the way across the globe to get married on a dirty beach. Ugh, Heidi couldn’t imagine anything more disgusting.

  She tried to imagine herself standing o
n such a beach seven months pregnant. Heidi did not want damp armpits and a shiny face to be recorded for posterity.

  Also there was no question that she could embark on such a long plane ride at that stage of her pregnancy – how could anyone be expected to do that? No, Heidi decided, there was just no way she was dragging herself halfway across the world for some tacky wedding. Cara and Shane would just have to get married here in Ireland. End of story.

  Heidi grabbed the phone again and fought the urge to throw it against the wall.

  Instead she grabbed the handset in a steely grip and dialled her sister’s phone number.

  It rang several times but then, just as Heidi felt sure she was about to be sent to voicemail, Cara answered.

  ‘Hello?’

  Heidi paused, interested. There was no denying the weariness in Cara’s voice. She sounded as if she was exhausted. This perked her up no end; it meant that she would have the advantage.

  ‘Cara. It’s Heidi here. I just spoke to Mum and she told me about your ridiculous plan to get married in St Lucia. You have no idea how upsetting this is.’

  She was met with silence. Not a word. Heidi couldn’t even hear her sister breathing on the other end of the line, and she wondered if they might have been cut off.

  ‘Cara, are you there?’

  She heard Cara inhale deeply. ‘Yes Heidi, I am here and you have no idea how not in the mood I am for this just now.’

  Heidi was taken aback. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You heard me,’ Cara said dryly. ‘I am not going to listen to you complain about my decisions.’

  ‘But you haven’t even taken a moment to listen to what I’m going to say!’ Heidi cried.